Living in Luxembourg

The great majority of positions offered at Cargolux through this website are based in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

This small country, located in the heart of Europe, offers a high degree of quality of life in an international and multicultural environment, an excellent education system and very favorable tax conditions to its residents.

An outstanding feature of society in the Grand Duchy is its multiculturalism. Almost 45% of the population of the Grand Duchy are not Luxembourg nationals. In total, the country now counts more than 170 different nationalities.

Luxembourg benefits from beautiful landscapes and a very green environment. It is marked in particular by the striking skyline of its capital city, which is listed under the UNESCO world heritage, and by its many castles, towns and villages. Luxembourg lays only a few hours' travel away from metropolitan centers such as Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Cologne, Amsterdam or London, with excellent road, high-speed rail and air connections.

Here are a few practical aspects for applicants and newcomers to Luxembourg:

General information

Area: 2,586km2, bordering Germany, France and Belgium

Size: 82km (North-South) by 57km (East-West)

Population: 576 249 (01.01.2016)

Languages: Luxembourgish (main spoken language), French & German (administrative languages). English is taught in schools and generally understood by a majority of the population.

Currency: euro

Education system

State education: Free and compulsory. Children are taught in German and French at primary school, and many opportunities exist for learning additional languages, in particular English, starting at secondary school.

Private education: Private schools are also available, teaching in English, French and other European languages. Tuition fees are often high; please see the links below for further information.

Higher education: Luxembourg offers various opportunities for higher education, notably at the University of Luxembourg, which was founded in 2003. However, prospective students also benefit from the proximity of many other universities and higher education institutions around Luxembourg, such as Metz, Nancy, Trier, Aachen, Liege, Brussels, Geneva and many others.

Luxembourg has adopted a wide range of family tax policy incentives and also provides an attractive parental leave system. Numerous day-care nurseries are available for families with children under school age. While some are run by the town administrations, most are private institutions and are fairly expensive.

Child-care is also widely available after school hours for families with two working parents.

Luxembourg and its surroundings offer a multitude of cultural and outdoors activities specifically targeted to children.

Taxation

Luxembourg benefits from one of the most favorable income tax systems in Europe, with additional rebates available for married couples and families with children. In addition, Luxembourg residents pay minimal housing taxes and are not subject to ad-hoc local taxation. Double-taxation prevention treaties have been concluded between Luxembourg and many other countries.

Housing and cost of living

Luxembourg has a relatively high cost of living, which is reflected by high housing prices. However, high wages help compensate this situation. While short term rental agreements are sometimes available the standard rental period is 3 years renewable.